Overseas investors once again get to meet Canadian juniors in person, as prospect generator Zimtu Capital TSXV:ZC and 11 of its holdings visit four European cities from November 5 to 11. Now in the event’s fifth year, company reps will hold conferences in Munich, Geneva, Zurich and Frankfurt to largely institutional audiences, demonstrating the wide-ranging interest in exploration opportunities.

“Essentially it’s a commitment by Zimtu and all the participating companies to keep the European investor informed about what the companies are doing, to meet the management and form a relationship with the guys who are going to be making the decisions, effectively spending their money,” says Zimtu president Dave Hodge.

“Many of the investors who are still interested in the sector had made great money in the past and experienced tremendous upside in some stocks. Certainly the Canadian junior market is very unique globally and provides that opportunity for the European investor to speculate on discovery.”

Describing himself as a “grizzled veteran of the Zimtu bus,” Chris Berry acts as MC, moderator and keynote speaker. The president of House Mountain Partners and co-editor of the Disruptive Discoveries Journal says, “I like to go back and get a sense of what institutional investors in those cities are thinking about, not just about commodity markets but central bank policies and the macro economy.”

His talk will briefly review the perspectives he offered last year then “challenge the audience” with four questions to consider in 2016. “It’s really more of a discussion than a lecture and I hope there’s a lot of pushback and debate. That gets people thinking and hopefully planning for better times next year.”

While the downturn’s all too obvious, several Zimtu holdings have made impressive strides over the last year. Some of the more remarkable stories include the creation of ALX Uranium TSXV:AL after Lakeland Resources and Alpha Exploration won overwhelming shareholder approval to combine their companies. The result is a distinguished team overseeing one of the Athabasca Basin’s largest and most prospective portfolios.

Competing for flagship status are a number of drill-ready projects including Kelic Lake, where a rig’s currently at work. Gibbon’s Creek has a ground gravity survey underway to follow up on last winter’s 2,550-metre program on a property hosting some of the Basin’s highest radon levels. The company’s Carter Lake and Hook Lake properties feature around 15 kilometres of untested corridors on strike with the Patterson Lake South, Arrow and Spitfire discoveries. Other drill-ready projects include Newnham Lake and Lazy Edward Bay, a 60% stake in the Carpenter Lake joint venture and an 80% share of the Gorilla JV.

Well financed for additional campaigns, the ALX team has been poring over property data to further establish priorities.

Commerce Resources addresses last year’s Munich conference.

Focusing on a rare earths project with relatively simple mineralogy, Commerce Resources TSXV:CCE continues to make progress with drilling, metallurgy and community engagement as its Ashram deposit in northern Quebec moves towards pre-feasibility. Last month the company increased rare earth elements recovery from 71% to 76% at a high grade of 42% total rare earth oxides, while also simplifying the plant’s flowsheet. The most impressive concentrates so far have graded 48.9% TREO at 63% recovery and 45.7% TREO at 71% recovery.

Eager to make contact with potential buyers, Electra bought and shipped an 18-tonne cargo of jade to Shanghai in September and is now preparing a second shipment. The company also produces chalky geyserite, or aluminum silica, from a Vancouver Island quarry. The product’s U.S. customer collaborated with Electra on a drill program last summer to study the project’s expansion potential.